The ramen yin and burger yang

For years, Ramen Burger has been my prize creation. For years, Ramen Burger has been its own dominant force in the summer. For years, Ramen Burger’s dominance would dissipate in the winter. For years, FIVE years, we waited for it to be summer.

They said we needed to act fast and cash in on the attention. I said we needed to be more patient and build a foundation. They said the hype was luck and would die fast and short. I said the hype was bred to live slow and long.

We missed out on opportunity. We didn’t act fast enough. We let them copy us. We are the losers.

I am still here. I put in 80 hours when everyone else was putting in 40. I tried to stay true to my prophecy.

Yet, I am not a success and still one step from failure.

But for what it’s worth, Ramen Shack has become the perfect complement to Ramen Burger. As I had imagined it would.

Five years later, Ramen Shack has matched the monthly sales of Ramen Burger, albeit in the middle of summer. Yes Ramen Shack is open more days and 50 times more work to maintain, but inside I feel like we are finally making progress.